In The Quiet Of The Night
by Redlance-ck
Summary: Sian's second night at the Webster's leads to her first new day. Sophie/Sian


**Disclaimer: **Nothing is mine. Except the story idea.

**A/N:** I just finished this and I'm way too tired to beta it right now, but I wanted to get it posted. So sorry for any mistakes that are more than likely in here. Turns out these two are too cute and i can't take not writing them.

**If you like it, drop me a review. :) If you don't, drop me one anyway and tell me what you'd like to see different. Reviews = happy, and happy makes me write more. :D**

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Night had fallen hard and fast, bringing a blanket of sadness as heavy as that of the darkness outside. Deep and undoubtedly there, but pinpricked with bright, shining lights. Sian had been in a sombre mood ever since her parents had shown up and it had only worsened once they'd finally left. Sophie hadn't known what to say, still didn't, so she'd just remained close. There for Sian to lean on. She'd thought the previous night had been bad; and it had. Sian had cried for ages once her dad had left. Sophie hadn't know what to say then either, she'd just hugged her until the older girl had stopped trembling and her breathing had evened out.

Sian's pyjama-clad form was curled into the armchair adjacent to the two-seater Kevin and Rosie were sat on, the television was blaring sound and bright lights, but though she looked as though she were watching it, her eyes saw none of the events transpiring on the scene. Sophie was perched on the arm with Sian's head resting gently against her thigh, absently playing with the tips of blonde hair. She wasn't paying attention to whatever programme was on either, too lost in her own thoughts. The day had been, for lack of a better word, pants. Total, utter, pants. Mentally and emotionally drained, Sophie could only imagine how crap Sian must be feeling; something she'd spent the remainder of the day worrying over. Didn't seem like it was going to let up. She was sad and confused and so completely enraged by what had happened, how Sian's parents had reacted. Specifically her dad, but the blonde's mum wasn't escaping unscathed. At least she'd accepted it though, mostly. It hadn't been their relationship that had bothered her, she just hadn't wanted Sian encroaching on her new relationship. But her dad…. She hated seeing Sian upset, over anything, but for her to be so torn up over something her own father had done to her; Sophie was so angry. She'd never wanted to smack someone so much in her entire life and she had been kind of disappointed her dad hadn't thrown a punch. She'd never felt so protective over Sian than she had in that moment either. Seeing her break down like that in front of everyone and tell her dad exactly why they'd run away, it had made her want to hug her and never let go. Though the blonde would argue it, and though her actions and reactions sometimes dictated the opposite, Sophie couldn't help but see her as being incredibly brave. But she really was fragile underneath.

"Rosie, make us a brew would you?" The oldest Webster offspring turned to look at her dad with disbelieving wide eyes.

"And what did your last slave die of?" Kevin raised his eyebrows, looking pointedly at her as he spoke.

"Not making me a brew when I asked." Rosie huffed. "Go on, I'm knackered." She rolled her eyes and noisily extracted herself from the sofa, smiling and ruffling Sophie's hair as she passed on her way to the kitchen.

"Anyone else want one?"

"No, I'm alright thank you." Sophie answered, reaching forward and curling her fingers through the front of Sian's hair, running them backwards through silky tresses. "D'you want one?" Sian tilted her head enough to glance up at her girlfriend. She crinkled her nose and shook her head.

"No, I'm fine thanks." Rosie made a noise of acknowledgement and they heard her flick the kettle on, then start rummaging in cupboards. For a few heartbeats, they just looked at each other while Sophie combed her fingers through Sian's hair. Then the blonde's forehead creased a little and she mouthed the word 'bed' up at her. Sophie nodded, looking back over at her dad.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna go to bed." She slid off the arm of the chair and stood, pushing her hair back behind her ears and smiling tiredly. "I'm knackered." Kevin leaned his head against the back of the couch and looked over at his youngest.

"Alright, love. Get some kip, tomorrow's a new day." He tried his best reassuring smile out and was happy to find it only felt slightly strained against his lips. Sophie mumbled a quiet 'yeah' and turned to find Sian standing close, right arm stretched across her chest, her hand gripping the upper part of her left arm.

"I really am sorry about earlier, Mr Webster." She said, tilting her head to the side and looking a little ashamed. "The stuff my dad said." Unconsciously, Sophie reached out to rub her hand along the small of Sian's back. Kevin wrinkled his nose in dismissal.

"Don't worry about it Sian, it's nothing you've to apologise for. It's already forgotten." She smiled thankfully at him, once again marvelling at how amazing Sophie's mum and dad were being about the whole thing. They weren't over the moon about it or anything, but they hadn't disowned their daughter. They'd actually kind of brought another one into their home in a weird way. Sian's gaze shifted to find Sophie smiling at her, and she felt the brunette's hand slide from her back and grip her hand, tugging her towards the staircase.

"Thanks, Mr Webster." The older man made a face.

"Yeah, well, you can knock that off an' all. Call me Kevin." Sian nodded tentatively, dropping the arm cradling her chest and turning to follow her girlfriend. "Remember what your mum said, Soph." The brunette stopped dead, turning around so fast it almost made Sian dizzy just watching.

"Dad!" Kevin shook his head, turning his attention away from them.

"Sorry, love. Our house, our rules." Sophie stomped her foot, actually stomped it, and Sian had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from bursting into giggles.

"But dad!" She whined, drawing the last word out to three times its normal length. "We're not going to do anything! Does a vow of chastity mean nothing in this house?" Sian's bright blue eyes widened and then shifted from corner to corner. She hoped no one could see the blush she was sure was rising up along her neck.

"Not when there are hormonal teenagers involved." He muttered pointedly, giving his youngest a look that told her there was no wiggling room on this one. Sophie rolled her eyes, expelled a loud noise of frustration and turned to drag Sian upstairs. Kevin lifted a hand to rub his face.

"Aren't they adorable?" The wistful voice belonged to his oldest and he dropped his hand to find her leaning against the doorframe to the kitchen, beaming. For a second, he was completely confused. By whether or not Rosie was being sarcastic and then by the idea that she was actually being serious. She stared at him, waiting for a response.

"Oh aye." He finally said, voice gruff, but Rosie saw the smile shaping the tips of his lips as he turned his head back to the telly. "Dead cute."

"This is so stupid." Sophie complained loudly, as she nudged open the door to her room with her big toe and then dumped the blankets and pillow she was carrying onto the floor next to her bed. Sian glanced over her shoulder at the other girl from her position knelt in front of the backpack she'd placed beside Sophie's computer desk.

"It's fine, Soph." She stressed with a raise of her eyebrows, closing her hand around the toothbrush she'd shoved into the bottom of the bag while collecting things from her room at her dad's. She stood, tossing the toothbrush onto the bed and bending to pick up the blankets. There were three. A thick, woollen one that looked like it would agitate the skin of a rhino and two cotton ones.

"It's not though, is it?" The younger girl huffed. "I mean, maybe I've just been spoilt after us being on our own and being able to sleep together, but Sian…" She threw one arm out to indicate the perfectly good bed lying against the wall. "We'd both be able to squeeze in there no problem and then neither of us would end up crippled from sleeping on the floor. Again." Sian laughed, fringe swinging into her eyes as she let the blankets slip from her grasp and moved forward to hug the brunette. Sophie didn't move at first, and so for a few seconds she was stood with Sian's arms around her and her chin on her shoulder, while one of her own arms still hung uselessly in midair and the hand of the other rested on her hip. She felt the blonde smile against her neck, then shift to place feather light kisses against the exposed skin of her shoulder. "Sian..." She whined, drawing out the name and finally dropping her hands to rest on the blonde's hips. Sian pulled back, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a flick of her head, and grinned at her girlfriend. She loved it when she won Sophie over with kisses.

"It's. Fine." She repeated, much more slowly in the hopes that it would actually sink in this time. Sophie frowned but said nothing, and Sian lifted a hand to press her index finger to the brunette's forehead and rub away the creases there. "I'd rather sleep on the floor in here, that on the bloody..." She glanced around, looking for the words. "Cobbles outside the garage." At that Sophie chuckled, tilting her head to rest her cheek against the blonde's arms as they looped around her neck.

"It's just so stupid." She sighed, rolling her head to press a kiss to the skin of Sian's upper arm and sliding her hands around until they met at the small of her back. "I don't see why we can't just share the bed." Sian let her head loll forward so her fringe brushed the side of her nose and raised her eyebrows, sliding one side of her mouth into a half-smile.

"Yeah, well I don't think you're mum and dad want us that close. We might accidentally rip each other's clothes off in our sleep." She said with mock-exuberance, gripping Sophie's shoulders tightly and pulling the other girl flush against her. The brunette laughed, pressing her hands into the middle of Sian's back and their foreheads together.

"Yeah." She breathed, gently brushing her nose against the blonde's, completely unable to stop herself from grinning. "Wouldn't want that." And Sian set a look on her that was so intense, it made her stomach flip.

"Oh aye?" Sian whispered, sliding her hands from their resting place to trail tendrils of fire up along Sophie's bare neck until her fingers disappeared into thick brown locks. She watched the brunette's eyes flutter closed and bit her lip to suppress the chuckle bubbling up inside her. For a second or two, she just stood there. Running her fingers through dark tresses and looking at her girlfriend. Really looking at her. And suddenly, just like that; as if the crapstorm that the last two days had been had never happened, she was happy. So, so happy. With a quiet hum of contentment, she leaned in and pressed their lips together. And like very time she kissed her, the rest of the world faded away and it was just the two of them. They stood, eyes closed, and melted into the kiss for what felt like a small eternity. Sophie's fingers gently kneaded their way along Sian's back, flexing and then straightening to brush soft lines down towards the hemline of the pyjama shirt the older girl was wearing. Sian's heart only had time to skip once before the brunette's hand deftly slipped beneath the fabric and she pressed a flat palm to warm skin. She gasped, breaking the kiss and pulling her head back. "You," She began, setting a pointed look on her girlfriend, who just smirked in response and traced patterns along the bare skin she found beneath her fingertips. "Need to behave yourself." A dark eyebrow arched in amusement and Sophie pursed her reddened lips before responding.

"Oh aye?" She mimicked, drawing the other girl's bright blue eyes wide and earning a light smack to the back of the head.

"Yes." Sian giggled, smoothing out the hair she'd mussed with her slap. "Otherwise…" She rolled her lips together and tilted her head. "I won't be held responsible for my actions." Sophie grinned and leaned in for what she intended to be a brief, more chaste kiss, but it inevitably turned more heated when she, as per usual, found herself loathe to pull away. It was only when she released a breathy sigh that she felt fingers slip from her hair and grab her firmly by the shoulders, forcing her backwards until their lips parted. Sophie laughed, removing her hands from the other girl and brushing her hair back out of her face, stumbling backwards a little. "You're so…." Exasperated, Sian could only roll her eyes and let out a loud noise of frustration, before she guided Sophie around in a circle so she had a clear path to the door. Then, wanting so badly to be able to mask her face with a look of frustration but utterly failing when she found herself unable to contain a smile, she bent to grab her toothbrush from the bed and spun back to extend a very dangerous looking index finger toward the other girl. "You've got more in common with Rosie that you think you do." And looking thoroughly satisfied with the way the smirk dropped like a lead weight from Sophie's face, Sian turned on her heel and waltz from the room.

Sophie stood and stared at the empty doorway, incredulity and a tinge of annoyance framing her features. She lifted her arms to fold them across her chest and let her brow knit together, cocking a hip and resting her weight on her left leg. She loved her sister, she really did. More than ever now after everything she'd done for them. But she wasn't all that taken with the idea of them actually having things in common, **especially** if what she thought Sian had been referring to was in fact what she'd been referring to.

"I **am not** a tease." She said adamantly the instant Sian re-entered the room. A little surprised - at first by finding her girlfriend in more or less the exact position she'd been in when she left, and then by the words leaving her mouth - the blonde halted in the centre of the room.

"I never said you was." She retorted, a wry smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She breezed past, bending to one knee to arrange the blankets that had been momentarily forgotten on the floor.

"That was what you meant though, weren't it? Why else would you compare me to **Rosie**?" Sian scoffed, glancing up at her girlfriend through wisps of blonde hair.

"Your sister's alright, you know."

"Oh what, you fancy her now?" And suddenly, Sian felt the temperature in the room drop a few hundred degrees.

"Soph…." She said, managing to elongate the nickname into two syllables. In her defence, Sophie looked like she was as confused by the question as Sian was; once the initial red haze of rage that had accompanied it had faded from her face. The blonde flexed her calf muscle, lifting her body up slightly so she could reach out to grab Sophie's hand and pull her down so they were on eyelevel. She came down easy, collapsing in a somewhat boneless-looking heap beside Sian, who threaded their fingers together and looked at her girlfriend with concern clear on her face. "What d'you go and say that for?" Sophie shrugged and then shook her head, tilting it enough to meet shining blue eyes. Sian looked like she was on the verge of tears and Sophie instantly felt like the biggest idiot in the world.

"I don't know." She said, sounding annoyed. "That was really stupid." She frowned, squeezing the hand in her own and rubbing her thumb along smooth knuckles. "I'm sorry. I really have no idea why I said that, I know you don't…." She trailed off, gesturing with her free hand. "Fancy Rosie." Sian made a face, tugging Sophie's hand so it was nestled between the thigh of her bent leg and her stomach.

"Yeah, because that would be creepy." She emphasized the last word by widening her eyes and then smiled, lifting Sophie's hand to her lips and kissing the top of it. "And I already picked the best sister, didn't I?" Sophie's nose wrinkled when she returned the smile, prompting Sian to then lean forward and place a kiss there too. "Now, help me set up these blankets will you?"

It didn't take long, a few minutes and the thicker blanket had been laid out a few feet from the bed with the thinner one on top of it to prevent any itching, and another on top of that to use as a quilt.

"This is so stupid." Sophie groaned, clambering onto her bed and slipping under the covers, flicking off the bedside lamp as she went. Darkness exploded into the room, broken only by the streetlight filtering in through the window. Feet shuffling against the carpet told Sophie that Sian was still moving about the room, but her eyes hadn't adjusted enough to tell where she was yet.

"Sophie, it's fine. I told you-"

"I know." The brunette interrupted, perturbed. She sighed. "It is though." She heard a chuckle float through the darkness and the soft footfalls making their way towards her. Sian's shadowed form came into view and she felt the blonde press a hand to the mattress on either side of her head. She felt her stomach flip again, felt herself get every so slightly giddy, when she was able to make out the sly smile on the other girl's face.

"I'm not gonna tell you again." She warned, tone playful, and then dipped her head to capture the lips before her. Sophie's hand moved instinctively to the blonde's face, cupping the side of it and running the pad of her thumb along Sian's cheekbone. It was like her brain was swaddled in cotton wool. But all too soon, she felt her girlfriend pull away, and she was too disappointed to be embarrassed by the whimper that left her at the loss of contact. "Night." Sian whispered, voice lilting, and dropped to the makeshift bed, wiggling under the blanket.

"And **I'm** the tease." She finally managed to quip, and heard Sian laugh from somewhere beside her. She rolled onto her side so she was facing the darkness covering the other girl and closed her eyes. "Night."

Silence fell quickly upon the room. Cars could be heard driving past the house every now and then, and laughter occasionally sifted in from the street. Sophie was awake long enough to hear both her dad and her sister make their way upstairs, and long enough for her mind to wander. Her thoughts were a little erratic, touching on everything from their current situation, to their time 'on the lamb', to questions she thought she maybe could have answered better on her GCSEs. But mostly she thought about the girl lying no more than a few feet away and tried to concentrate on stopping her fingers and toes from twitching in agitation, because it really was stupid that they couldn't share a bed. They were already in the same room. Sometimes, she really hated how much her parents trusted her. That their faith was justified and that she wouldn't sneak Sian into her bed, no matter how much she protested the inanity of the rule. Sometimes, deep down where no one else could find it, she did wish she was a little more like Rosie.

She wasn't sure what time it was when she heard the first sniffle, but she knew the room had been dark around her for a while. At first she wasn't sure of what she'd heard, so she just lay with her head against the pillow and listened. It came again a few seconds later, louder and accompanied by the damp sound of someone trying desperately to hold back the sob but failing. Sophie's heart dropped through her stomach and she removed her right hand from under the pillow and reached out, only able to brush the edge of the blanket her girlfriend was under.

"Sian?" She whispered, disrupting the stillness and hush of the room. Two things happened at once. All measure of control the girl on the floor was trying to keep shattered, allowing a keening wail to escape her lips, and Sophie's heart broke. She threw the covers back off of her and slid out of her bed and to the floor. Grabbing the edge of the first blanket, she lifted it and eased herself under, placing a hand against the flat of the blonde's back. At the touch, Sian's slight frame shook harder and she scooted away, only to roll over and press her front as close to Sophie's as possible. The brunette arms went around the other girl with ease, left around her neck, right over her side to press a palm to her back and hold her close.

"Hey, hey…." She murmured in a soothing tone, awkwardly managing to reach the blonde's hair with the hand of the arm around her neck and rhythmically stroking it. "It's okay." Sophie could feel Sian shaking, felt damp tears get transferred from her girlfriend's cheek to the side of her neck as she burrowed closer until there was no space separating them at all. Sian's hands clung to the material of the tank top the brunette wore for sleeping and Sophie felt her blink against her neck, pushing out a fresh wave of tears.

"Today's been such a load of crap, Soph." Sian managed to choke out. Her voice was thick from crying and a sob punctuated every other word she strained to get out. Sophie's brow creased and she placed a kiss against the soft hair in front of her.

"I know." And the sadness that had been following them like a black cloud over the last few days suddenly returned ten times the size and bursting at the seams, ready to drench them. "It's gonna be okay."

"It's not though, is it?" Sian snapped, sounding angry and hurt and so very upset. She took a shaking breath, felt it hitch painfully in her throat and just nuzzled closer, resting her forehead in the hollow of Sophie's neck and sniffling loudly. "I wish we could have just stayed away." She cried, numbly aware of the brunette's fingers threading through her hair. "Then none of this would have happened." Sophie wasn't sure what to say, but when it became clear Sian was done with that particular thought, she felt like she had to say something.

"We'll be better off this way, we will, Sian. We haven't got to worry about where we'll be sleeping, or what we'll be eating, or what people back here are thinking or if they were worried-"

"**No one **was worried about me, Sophie!" Sian's voice, thick and wet, cracked somewhere in the middle of the sentence and she sounded so heartbreakingly sad that tears started to sting the backs of Sophie's eyes. "They couldn't have cared **less** about me." And Sophie knew that Sian wasn't talking about just anyone. She somehow managed to swallow past the lump in her throat and tentatively opened her mouth to speak.

"Of course they care about you, they just don't know how-"

"Don't patronize me." And even though she sounded angry, Sian didn't pull away or try to put any kind of distance between them. She just clung tighter. "You heard my dad." She sniffed. "I'm not his daughter anymore, and I don't want to be. And my mum is too wrapped up in her own life to even care." Bitterness dripped from the words, dropping through the air like acid. "What does that say about me? If my own parents don't even want me." The end of her sentence became too drowned out for Sophie to hear clearly, but she had no trouble working out what the other girl had said. She pressed another kiss to the blonde's hair and stroked her hand along her back, trailing it up to caress the side of Sian's tear-stained face and gently tilt her head back far enough so she could look at her. Her blue eyes were bloodshot and puffy, still brimming with tears. An errant one escaped and Sophie thumbed it away.

"**I **want you." She told her emphatically, as though there was nothing in the entire universe that could make her change her mind about that. And there wasn't. The older girl dropped her gaze and the smile that parted her lips, allowing another strangled sob to escape, was as sorrowful as it was unconvinced, and it pained Sophie to see it. "Hey." She said, gripping Sian's chin firmly and bringing the blonde's attention back up. "I mean it." She tucked a stray lock of fair hair behind Sian's ear and stared into red rimmed eyes. "I love you." A stifled, but sharp noise left the back of the blonde's throat and she took a few seconds to gaze up at the ceiling in order to stave off a fresh wave of tears that threatened to engulf her at Sophie's words. Taking a breath allowed the younger girl enough time to ponder how strange this felt, to be the one reassuring the other that they loved them. Usually it was the other way around. "And if they can't get past that… if they're too self-absorbed… if they're too blind to see you're still the same amazing, beautiful person you've always been, then that's their loss." Still resting her hand against Sian's face, Sophie moved her thumb the necessary few millimetres and ran it across her lips. She felt the soft weight of a kiss being pressed against it and smiled when Sian looked back at her. "And it's my gain, yeah?" For a moment, they just looked at one another. And there was so much Sian wanted to say, but she didn't know where to find the words. So instead, she simply nodded and murmured a hushed "yeah, your's." before lifting a hand to take the one Sophie had at her face and move it, and then let the brunette replace her thumb with her lips.

The kiss was slow, and easy, but there was so much emotion packed into it that Sophie felt a stray tear of her own slip free and trickle down her check. But she ignored it, lacing their fingers together and leaving her eyes closed, vanishing into the moment. All she could feel was the other girl against her; she could smell her shampoo and taste the remnants of salty tears on her lips, and everything was warm and safe and even though they were crying and things, in some ways, couldn't be worse, it was all perfect. Because they had each other.

"I'm so glad you kissed me that night." Sian said, resting their foreheads together and sounding breathless when they eventually parted. Her eyes popped open and she chuckled, only sniffling a little at the end and meeting Sophie's twinkling eyes with a sheepish grin on her face. "Did I say that out loud?" And then it was Sophie's turn to laugh, and she did, sweeping in to steal another quick kiss.

"Yeah, you did." The look on her face was smug, very proud of herself, and Sian couldn't find it in her to even attempt to wipe it away. "I'm glad you finally came to your senses and realised you was crazy about me." Sophie sighed with a mock-dramatic wistfulness, then bit her lip and giggled. Sian let go of her hand long enough to wipe the remaining wetness at the corners of her eyes and then entwined their fingers once more. She lifted the side of her mouth in a half smile.

"Yeah well, still am." And the heavy sadness that had blanketed them was suddenly lighter. In that room away from the rest of the world, they were just two teenagers in love, made happy just by being with one another. That was all they wanted, to be together. And they were going to be together, despite what anyone else might think.

They lay there quietly for a long time. Looking at each other and leaning in for the occasional kiss, but mostly they just taking the time to commit everything they could see to memory. As if they hadn't done that a hundred times before. Even before they were together, a couple, Sophie had paid attention. Mapped the other girl's face when Sian's attention had been somewhere else. She hadn't thought anything of it at the time, it had just been impulsive. She wondered if Sian had done things like that, that looking back now made so much more sense; made things obvious. She wanted to ask, but she didn't, because bright blue eyes so different from her own were starting to disappear behind lids that were getting progressively heavier.

"You should go to sleep." Sophie rubbed her hand along the blonde's side, causing the other girl to smile.

"If I sleep that means you have to go back to your own bed." Sian's voice was drowsy and she blinked in slow motion. Sophie continued her ministrations, feeling her own eyes sting from tiredness.

"Then I'll stay down here 'til you've drifted off then." She lifted her hand from the other girl to adjust the blankets, bringing them up closer to her neck before returning it to its previous task, and Sian shifted closer until their legs became intertwined.

"What about you?" She asked through a yawn, finally letting her eyes glide, and remain, closed. "Aren't you tired."

"I'll just lie her for a bit." Sophie reassured her, fingers playing with the material of Sian's pyjama shirt. "Just for a bit." And her own eyes slid shut not too long after.

"You're up bright and early." Sally commented, shock evident in her voice, when Rosie swanned into kitchen at what she was fairly certain her oldest daughter had previously proclaimed to be 'an ungodly hour' looking fresh as a daisy in her dressing gown.

"Yeah, well, things to do, people to see." She explained with a grin that was too wide to be convincing. Sally eye's narrowed, but she didn't say anything and just continued folding the laundry she was pulling out of the tumble dryer. Rosie raised her eyebrows innocently and moved to flick the kettle on. "Are your sister and her…." She trailed off, pausing in her bend to retrieve another garment from the dryer, a little confused by what word to use.

"The word you're looking for is 'girlfriend', mum." Rosie offered with an overly cheery and helpful tone of voice. "Though I hear 'partner' is also socially excepted among lesbians." Sally gave her a withering look as she straightened and absently folded the t-shirt she'd freed from a pair of jeans.

"And where exactly did you hear that?" Rosie made a face that conveyed to Sally she should probably know all this already.

"God mum, like, get with the programme? Everyone knows this stuff." She grabbed a mug from the cupboard and set it in front of the kettle, dropping a teabag into it. Sally huffed.

"Well, apparently I've got a lot more to learn about this stuff than I thought." And there was a slight sadness to her voice that Rosie couldn't understand, and therefore couldn't identify, so it just got breezed over.

"Why don't you ask Sophie and Sian if you can borrow their handbook?" Interest well and truly piqued, Sally turned to find Rosie leaning against the sink and grinning at her. In hindsight, she should have know instantly.

"There's a handbook?" She questioned and Rosie burst into raucous laughter. Sally's face dropped and she put her hands on her hip, setting a reproachful look on her daughter.

"Oh mum, sometimes you are just priceless." Sally rolled her eyes and slapped Rosie on the arm with the folded shirt she was holding.

"You." She said, somewhat threateningly, and tossed the piece of laundry onto the ever growing pile. "Finish that while I wake your sister." Behind the safety of her mother's back Rosie's eyes widened and mumbled something under her breath, before making a mad dash to intercept her mother at the foot of the stairs. She threw out a hand, palm hitting the wall opposite to the banister and blocking Sally's path, then eased her way in front of the older woman. Sally raised her eyebrows at her.

"I'll do that." She offered in what she hoped sounded like a helpful tone of voice and didn't come across as completely suspicious. "I've got to go back up to, um, get my phone anyway. I've probably missed loads of texts by now." After a second of intense scrutinizing, Sally acquiesced with a raise of her hands and a quiet "okay", and walked back into the kitchen. Releasing a relieved sigh, Rosie bolted up the stairs. She stopped outside her sister's room and leaned in towards the door to see if she could hear anything. She couldn't, so she pressed her ear against the wood and listened harder. When all she heard was silence, she hesitantly knocked and opened the door.

The sight that greeted her, she was sure, would have been enough to melt even the coldest heart. Even that witch from Narnia. Though she had never seen a makeshift bed - why would she have? She was far too classy for that kind of thing, it was a real bed or nothing - she was fairly certain that was what had been set up next to where Sophie usually slept. Only now both girls were on the floor, Sian's blonde hair visible over a lump of blanket. As it appeared to Rosie, Sian was using her sister's torso as a pillow and Sophie was content to lie back and let her. Her arm was draped over the blonde's back and it raised and fell with the girl's even breathing. It was only when Rosie stepped quietly into the room that she realised her sister was awake. Sophie lifted her head a little to catch her sister's gaze and brought her free hand up, pressing her finger to her mouth in warning. Rosie rolled her eyes.

"You're lucky it's me in here and not mum." She whispered, glancing over to the bed and then back down to the girls on the floor. "Why didn't you both just sleep in the bed if you were going to break the rules anyway?" Her mouth widened in a grin as she answered her own question and looked positively gleeful over whatever she'd come up with. "Oh my god, you are so much more like me than I gave you credit for. Mum and dad said you couldn't share a **bed**. This," she nodded appreciatively. "This is brilliant." Sian stirred, fingers gripping and flexing at Sophie's hip.

"Soph…." The blonde sighed, still asleep, and the name left her in a nature all too intimate for current company. Rosie's eyebrows shot to her hairline and she smirked so wide Sophie would have thought it was about to swallow her face, if she hadn't been busy glaring daggers at her.

"Get lost, Rosie." The older sibling didn't move, instead she remained standing there and watched as the blonde's eyes opened sleepily and tried to focus on her surroundings. When she remembered where she was, she automatically shifted her position so she could glance up at Sophie.

"Hiya." She drawled with a smile in a voice rough from sleep. Momentarily distracted from her sister, Sophie returned the smile and ran her fingers over Sian's hair, moving it out of her face.

"Mornin'." And it was a good one, another one of the best, because they'd woken up together.

"You two are so sweet, I think you're **actually** making me diabetic." And apparently, with someone else. Sian's brow furrowed and she slowly turned her upper body back so she could rest her head on Sophie's stomach again, eyes finally landing on Rosie.

"Jealous?" She asked, playfully cocking an eyebrow. Rosie exhaled noisily, a look passing over her face that screamed 'yeah right' louder than she could ever say it.

"Of teenage puppy love?" She scoffed. "I don't think so." And all three of them quite easily recognised she didn't mean a word of it. Well, at least not the 'puppy love' part. They were fairly certain Rosie didn't want to be a lesbian, but the girl could have shocked Sharon Osborne so there was no ruling anything out. "Anyway, you two are so lucky I'm like, always on alert because mum was about to make her way up here and disrupt your little love nest." Sophie and Sian both wrinkled their noses in unison at Rosie's choice of words.

"What, you mean like you just did?" Sophie asked, and Rosie lifted her hand to her chest in mock-distress. Sian groaned and adjusted her position once more, letting her head roll down until her nose was pressed against Sophie's side and tugging the covers over her so the world was dark again.

"I just stuck my neck out so you two wouldn't get caught engaging in illicit liaisons!" From somewhere beneath the blankets, Sian started laughing. Sophie rolled her eyes, smacked the indiscernible lump she assumed was the blonde's head, and tossed an overly enthusiastic smile her sister's way.

"Thanks, Rosie. We owe you one." A muffled "we?" came from Sian's general are and Rosie grinned, looking triumphant.

"I'll remember that." And suddenly Sophie felt an undeniable sense of foreboding and doom, but before she had time to enquire Rosie had continued talking. Did she ever actually stop? "Mum's going to be sniffing around like a bloodhound until you show your faces, so you might want to think about extracting yourself from one another and chucking a shape." Sophie absently waved her retreating form away with a wave of her hand and once the distinctive sound of the door clicking shut was heard, Sian threw the covers back from her and propped herself up so she was hovering over the other girl with a hand on either side of her chest.

"Illicit liaisons?" She questioned with a laugh, exuberant and contagious, and the brunette joined in.

"Rosie lives in her own world." When she was younger she'd often theorised that Rosie was actually from another planet. Oddly enough, now she was older the theory wasn't any less plausible, she just didn't think about it as much. She kind of liked having her sister be Earthbound. Sian smiled at her and the strength drain from her arms, settling herself half on top of her other girl with her head resting under Sophie's chin.

"Can we stay in ours for a bit?" And in one of those blissful moments where you just don't care because you feel so good and happy and loved, and like nothing tainted can touch you, Sophie wrapped her arms around her girlfriend in silent consent and decided to keep the rest of the world out for just a little while longer.


End file.
